Epilogue

9 years later…

The 100th birthday party for Steve Rogers had been everything Maria had hoped it would be. The food had been great – Frank had awesome chef friends, and Steve had gotten over the depressing fact that he was a century old rather quickly when the old family came together again. It had taken Maria months to organize the party for her husband, but in the end it had finally paid off.

Amongst the highlights of the party had been the announcement of Natasha's second pregnancy, and Thor's official appointment as King of Asgard. The last news was bittersweet, however, since it also meant Jane had to leave Earth, permanently. The news of Darcy's engagement to her boyfriend had also been a shock to everyone, especially when Rhodey had been listening in. Nevertheless, the two of them had broken up on good terms with each other almost four years ago, so when Rhodey congratulated the engaged couple, everyone took a sigh of relief. Happy had just retired from his Head of Security position, and had announced he was getting ready to travel around the world with Rhodey. They both had promised not to scratch the War Machine outfit that much.

Nick Fury had also announced his retirement from S.H.I.E.L.D., which meant Maria was taking over the lead of the organization, and Phil Coulson was ascending to Deputy Director to replace her. Natasha and Clint now mostly worked intelligence and where hardly in the field unless training of new members was involved.

Steve had received many gifts, but the best of them all had come from the God of Thunder himself. The Thunderer was still impressed that Steve had been deemed worthy to carry Mjölnir, so after asking for Captain's shield for a few months, he had returned it to him during his birthday party, surprising everyone with the news that the vibranium shield had been combined with the Asgardian metal uru and now also possessed the strength and enchantment of Mjölnir, having been re-forged by the same dwarfs that been commissioned to create the magical hammer for Thor. Steve was not sure what it meant, but Thor had insisted it was an honor very few mortals had the option to be bestowed upon.

Now that the party had ended, the Stark family found themselves riding back home, cruising on the PCH, Pepper and Tony having to deal with the consequences of two ten-year-olds high on a sugar rush. Pepper was the one having the most difficult time of all, since in addition to the fighting twins in the back of the car; she also had a complaining Tony at the wheel.

"I just don't understand why you won't let me rig my sports car to fit four people. Tony Stark should never be seen driving a reject of the soccer mom club."

"Tony, this car cost more than a semester at MIT. It's not a reject of anything. Besides, how do you plan to rig the Audi to fit four people? It doesn't even have a back to it!"

"Hence the rig, Honey. Do you know what 'rig' entails? Making something do something it didn't do before."

"You mean like you rigged my perfectly usable espresso machine to work as a radiation radar?"

"OK, first: it's not a radiation radar. It's an Extremis soldier detector. And, two, you only have an espresso once in a blue moon. The machine just sits there doing nothing most of the time!"

"Well, what about Jarvis? You put a homing device in his collar!" Pepper responded.

"That was not a homing device; it was a 'security measure.' I need to know where the dog is, at all times."

Pepper sighed, opened her mouth, but her retort died on her lips when she heard the argument behind them picking up.

"MOM! Robbie said I'm adopted! Is that true? Am I adopted?"

"Robert, stop telling your sister lies."

"It's not a lie! She looks like Auntie Natalie, doesn't she?"

"Robert," Tony interjected. "Not all redheads are related. Besides, your sister is more blonde than redhead. Let it go, now."

"But, dad!"

"Shut it!"

Gwyneth giggled and pointed a mocking finger at her brother. "I told you so."

The ride became quiet for the first time since they had left Steve's party until Robert spoke up once more. "Dad? Can you build me a magical shield like Steve's?"

"What? I thought you liked Iron Man better than Captain America!"

"I did…"

Tony smiled.

"Until he got the magical shield…"

Tony frowned. "What makes you think I can make you a magical shield? He got that done by Thor."

"Well, maybe you can ask him to make me one."

"That's not how it works."

"How does it work then?" Gwyneth asked. "'Cuz if Robbie gets a magical shield, I want one, too."

"Nobody is getting a magical shield," Pepper said, which caused the twins to groan in disappointment.

"Mom, maybe you can ask Thor to make us a shield?"

"Seriously, dude," Tony began. "What makes you think your mom has a better chance at getting you the shield?"

"Well, mom has a vagina, right?"

The parents and Gwyneth's eyes widened at Robert's response. "You're not supposed to know about that, Robbie," Gwyneth crossed her arms. "That's girl's stuff."

"No it's not. Everyone knows girls have vaginas."

Pepper rubbed her temples with her hands before she stared at Tony. Tony shook his head, letting his wife know it was not his fault their son knew what a vagina was.

"Robbie, where did you hear that word?"

"Aunt Darcy told me about it. She said that all girls can get anything they want because they have vaginas. So, that means you can get a shield out of Thor for me, because you have one, right?"

The car was silent for a moment again until Gwyneth slapped her hands together in realization. "Wait a moment! I have a vagina, too! I can ask Thor for a magical shield!"

"That's not fair!" Robert spat. "I don't have one!"

"Na-na-na-na-NA-na!" Gwyneth mocked her brother once more, doing a small dance from her side of the seat.

"You're stupid," Robert told his sister, desperate that the vagina issue was going to leave him without a magical shield.

"Don't call your sister that, Robert." Tony spat, eyeing them from the rear view mirror.

"But she is!" The boy argued.

"Robert, be quiet!" Pepper eyed him for a moment before her eyes then moved to the girl. "And you, stop making fun of your brother. Nobody is getting magical shields and nobody says the V-word anymore and that's final!"

The twins pouted and looked away from each other, mad at the other for making the parental units mad at them. After half an hour, the car arrived at the entrance tunnel of the basement, and both parents sighed in relief at finally arriving home. Tony turned off the engine, unbuckled his belt and exited the car.

"Welcome home," the AI chirped in from the PA system.

"Hi, Jarvis." Tony responded as he helped Robert get out of the car, and Pepper did the same for Gwyneth on her end of the vehicle. The look of anger on the twins' face was yet to dissipate.

"Sir, I am detecting an anomaly in the premises. Further investigation is recommended."

Pepper and Tony exchanged concerned looks, their grips on their kids' shoulders tightening. "Where is the anomaly coming from, J?"

"It is difficult to pinpoint, sir. I've never seen readings exactly like these, though they seem faintly familiar."

"Tony," Pepper whimpered, her eyes already turning orange in anticipation of an incoming attack. "The kids…"

"Robert, get your sister out of here, now!" The father ordered, sharing the same fears his wife displayed on her face.

"I don't like her!" The boy spat.

"This is not the time!" Tony responded.

"I don't like you either!" The girl yelled louder.

"Shut up!"

"No, YOU shut up!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Pepper snapped.

"You made mom mad at ME!" Robert accused his sister.

"You started it!" The girl defended herself.

"ROBERT!" Tony yelled. "SISTER. OUT. NOW!"

"The readings are becoming stronger, sir."

"NO! Get away from me!"

"GWYNETH!"

"I said I DON'T LIKE YOU!" The boy yelled, raising his right fist to strike his sister, his eyes suddenly glowing orange with anger and his arm catching on fire. In response, Gwyneth extended her right arm in front of her and the right-hand gauntlet of the nearby Mark XLIX flew toward her, surrounding the small hand with its protection, aiming the repulsor at her brother. For a moment, neither of them moved, both staring at the other with righteous sibling anger, but after a few blinks, the two children realized what they were doing and what had just happened and began staring at their limbs in surprise and awe.

"I believe I have determined the source of the anomalous readings, sir."

Neither child dared to make the next move, both afraid of their parents' reactions, and both unsure of what they had just done themselves. Pepper's mouth hung open, her eyes now returning to their normal color, as she stared between the two kids and then to an equally shocked Tony Stark. The scientist lifted his arms in the air and sighed loudly.

"Yeah, sure, WHY NOT?"

The End

A/N: *insert evil laugh here* Well, that's that for now. I am now on my merry way to write the sequel to 30 Days, but please give my brain a couple of weeks. I'm hoping I can write the entire sequel by then and then just post it all at once, or one chapter per day or something like that. *crosses fingers* Either way, you will get at least one chapter before the two weeks are up.

Now, as far as a sequel to this…there might be one…but I won't be writing it. My beta, husband and fellow writer Teen Tyrant will be taking up the mantle for me. I'll probably be posting it under my name, but only about...12% of the credit will go to me. My next project is the sequel to 30 Days, and after that…we'll see. A giant thank you to each and every single one of you who read, commented, favorite and followed me or this story, and Shadows of the Past. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it, and that we get to see each other again very soon, and on and on until my fingers aren't able to type anymore.

Ciao!